1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic apparatus comprising a body casing and a lid casing assembled via a spring-assisted sliding unit to allow the lid casing to slide between a closed position where the body casing is covered and an open position where the body casing is exposed, and its manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, among cell phones as an example of electronic apparatus, there are provided a so-called slide-open cell phone where a body casing and a lid casing are coupled via a sliding mechanism in order to provide ease of handling in use and a compact design as a carry-along tool (for example, refer to JP-A-2006-165854).
As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, a related art slide-open cell phone A comprises a body casing B including operation keys Bk, Bk . . . and a transmitter Bm, and a lid casing C including a liquid crystal display Cd and a receiver Cr. The body casing B and the lid casing C are coupled to each other via a spring-assisted sliding unit U. The lid casing C moves in a sliding fashion between a closed position where the lid casing C is overlaid on the body casing B to cover its entirety as shown in FIG. 11(a) and an open position where the operation keys Bk, Bk . . . of the body casing B are exposed as shown in FIG. 11(b).
The spring-assisted sliding unit U interposed between the body casing B and the lid casing C includes a unit body Ua having a base frame Ub on which a pair of guide rails UI, UI is formed side by side and an energizing spring (not shown) and a slider Us movable between a closed end position (FIG. 12) and an open end position (FIG. 13) along the guide rails UI, UI of the unit body Ua.
The slider Us is energized toward the closed end position and the open end position from the center region of the travel range by way of the energizing spring (not shown) of the unit body Ua and is also energized by a spring (not shown) to remain in the closed end position and the open end position.
The body casing B of the cell phone A is composed of an inner case Bi and an outer case Bo assembled to each other. The lid casing C is composed of an inner case Ci and an outer case Co assembled to each other. The spring-assisted sliding unit U includes a unit body Ua (base frame Ub) mounted on the inner case Ci of the lid casing C and a slider Us mounted on the inner case Bi of the body casing B.
The inner case Bi of the body casing B has a retaining hook Bh protruding therefrom. The inner case Ci of the lid casing C has a stopper edge Cs formed thereon. As shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 13(a), while the lid casing C occupies the closed position with respect to the body casing B, the retaining hook Bh of the body casing B is engaged with the stopper edge Cs of the lid casing C thereby preventing isolation of the body casing B from the lid casing C.
In the manufacture of the slide-open cell phone A, in a process for assembling the body casing B and the lid casing C to each other, the unit body Ua (base frame Ub) of the spring-assisted sliding unit U is screwed into the inner case Ci of the lid casing C and then the inner case Bi of the body casing B is screwed into the slider Us of the spring-assisted sliding unit U.
When the inner case Bi of the body casing B is assembled to the slider Us, in a state where the slider Us occupies the closed end position, the stopper edge Cs of the inner case Ci of the lid casing C is in close proximity to the edge of the slider Us. It is difficult to insert a retaining hook Bh between the stopper edge Cs and the slider Us to place the inner case Bi of the body casing B on the slider Us.
Thus, the slider Us of the spring-assisted sliding unit U is caused to occupy the open end position and the inner case Bi of the body casing B is screwed into the slider Us. In the process, it is necessary to screw the retained inner case Bi into the slider Us while positioning the inner case Bi with respect to the slider Us. This makes the assembly work quite cumbersome. Further, it is difficult to accurately position the inner case Bi with respect to the slider Us.